Her almost child-like wonder was broken when Luke beckoned her over to one of the data terminals. He typed in a string of characters so fast that it nearly made her head spin, and pulled out a primitive looking data pad from a slot in the machine. "As far as I can tell, this temple was last used over a thousand years ago, back during the Russan Reformation. I'm unsure as to why it was abandoned, but those days were chaotic." Luke explained to her. Of course, much of what he was saying flew over her head, so she simply nodded.
Luke's face twisted into a wry smile, sensing her confusion. "In the future, if you have a question, you need only ask." Ignoring the faint blush on Rey's cheeks, he held out the data pad to her. "The selection of works I downloaded into this pad should be enough for you to study when we're not doing practical lessons."
"Do you really think I'm going to have time to read this many books?" She asked incredulously, scrolling down the list of things that Luke had added onto the Datapad. Rey was a decent reader, owning to the fact that she had nothing to do at night on Jakku. On occassion, she would barter for data-pad novels in exchange for some of the things she recovered from wrecks, assuming that she had enough left over to feed herself. Thinking back on it, not having to worry about having enough to eat every day was a welcome change of pace.
Luke's expression was one of thoughtfulness, thinking about the point she raised. "Well...after learning the setback the First Order suffered, I would imagine they would be quite cautious, with the Republic and Resistance both now alerted to their ambitions." He went silent again, closing his eyes. Rey could feel him touch the Force, like the faintest whisper of wind. It was getting easier for Rey to feel these...disturbances. They tickled her senses, made her alert with anticipation and energy.
It was odd to her, the urge to touch the Force. It was like a blind man learning to see, you didn't know you were missing anything until it was revealed to you. She was tempted to open her awareness to see what Luke was doing, before he opened his eyes again, breathing deeply. "I think you'll have plenty of time to study with me here. When the time comes for you to leave, you'll know." He told her.
She accepted his word and tucked the datapad under her arm. "I certainly hope you're right." She said, willing to trust his judgment, but still worried for the sake of her new friends. Poe would be directly in the thick of the fighting, while god knows what the Resistance would task Finn with after he was done recovering. Rey had already lost them both once, she would prefer not to lose them again.
Luke, sensing her inner turmoil and indecision, merely gave her a look that said he knew. "Be mindful of your feelings" He told her gently. "Lest they consume you."
There was wisdom in his words, she knew. Her emotions were directly tied to the Force, and could allow her to do great and terrible things. She let the Force flow through her, to calm and guide herself. It was hard to keep the swirling thoughts under the surface of her mind in control, now that she was so hyper aware of everything.
'Perhaps this was how the road to the Dark Side started for most people', she thought to herself. Everything felt so much more real to her, and for any being with this kind of awareness it must have been hard to not feel more strongly, to give into those strong bursts of emotion. She herself had certainly given into them, back during the battle at Starkiller Base.
Luke remained silent as Rey touched the Force, pleased that she was able to calm her own inner turmoil without any true aid. He beckoned her to follow him as he headed deeper into the Archives. "Let me show you something truly remarkable about this place." He said, more animation on his face than Rey had seen before.
They walked past the shelving, their steps echoing loudly in the silent hall as they reached a back room. It was a much smaller, but still spacious room that was about the size of the training room he had taken her to earlier. It was laid out like a theater of sorts, a ring of seating surrounding a sunken circle. However, instead of a lecturn or a podium, against the wall there were several odd looking pyramid and cube shapes stacked in rows, recessed into special shelving that held them perfectly.
"What are those?" Rey found herself asking, walking down into the circle to get a closer look at the strange set up. "It looks like a class room out of a holo still."
Luke walked up next to her and nodded in affirmation. "Thats because it is a classroom. However, it is not an ordinary class room." A touch of the force brushes up against Rey's senses, as one of the devices suddenly lit up, a projection of a cloaked figure standing in the circle. She jumped back a bit in shock, staring at the hologram. "Is...this some kind of recording?" She asked tenatively, before actually jumping back in shock when the hologram turned to face her, revealing an elderly, scowling woman who had white hair braided into two long stands that fell down the front of her robes. Her eyes where cloudy, even in the hologram, and she looked at Rey before turing to Luke.
"So, you've finally brought someone here for me to teach. I was wondering if you would end up being the last Jedi I see." She told him, a hand on her hip as she leveled him a look of mild displeasure. Her voice was clear, almost bordering on monotone, but the inflection she used could easily convey her exact feelings on a matter. At once, Rey was enthralled by the projection.
"Yes, well...I must admit I was not actively seeking someone to bring you. Rey, this is-" Luke began to say, before the projection cut him off.
"You may call me Kreia, or Master Kreia if you would seek a name for me. And judging by the look on your face, you must have never seen a Holocron before." Kreia spoke with a much softer voice, appraising Rey as she stood before her. "I think you will be interesting to teach, my dear. You remind me of my first Padawan."
Rey could sense the fabric of the Force twist itself as Kreia looked at her, those eyes piercing even with the relatively substandard holographic projection that came from the device. Kreia's form flickered, as if to signify she was finished, and she fixed her gaze back on Luke. "I would teach her in solitude. I do not tend to work well with others breathing down my neck."
Luke's face twisted up as if he had eaten something sour, and Rey had to stifle her own amusement at the sharp tongued Jedi Master. "Well..." And here, Luke had to truly control his own irritation. "I was hoping that I could at least observe one of her first lessons via Holocron, but if you insist, I shall leave. Do be careful though, she is new to our ways." And as he looked back to Rey, Luke's expression changed back to one of a stoic Jedi. "I must go attend to other things for now, and draw up my own lessons for you. Master Kreia should be able to teach you some of the basics for now, and I will help supplement anything she misses." Kreia gave a sniff of displeasure at that comment, but Luke ignored her and continued. "So for now, stay with her as long as you need to, I will come bring you something if you are not done by dinner."
And with that, Luke turned to leave, his footsteps clapping against the stone work until they faded into nothingness. When he left, Kreia's blind eyes fixed upon Rey with a look that chilled her to the core. "Yes..." She drawled, her tone a blend of amusement, anticipation, and knowing. "You are new to our ways, aren't you?"
Author's Notes: These notes will be a bit lengthy, so bear with me.
1, I am looking for a beta reader to help me with these chapters, if anyone is interested in fulfilling such a position. A very, VERY strong background in the Star Wars EU is neccesary, I need someone to bounce ideas off of and send them these chapters to proof read, correct mistakes, and help me story board a bit.
2, For those of you who do not know who Kreia is, if you do not wish to be spoiled in terms of future plot points, do NOT look up who she is. Simply trust my judgement, and for those of you who DO know who she is, do not spoil it for others in a review. All I can say is, I needed someone to play Virgil to Rey's Dante, and I could think of no one better.
3, I will be using, as you can already tell, Legends EU stuff up to the Battle of Endor, and perhaps a bit beyond depending on what material I will need to use. I will do my very very best to NOT change the current dynamic between the importance of the Resistance/Republic and First Order conflics. But anything in the past is up for grabs.
4, Please, PLEASE let me know what you think of this chapter, as well as how my writing is. I feel like I'm lacking some critical human element, and I need more reviews in order to gauge how I'm doing, and if these characterizations are enjoyable.
P.S.: Should I type up larger chapters and upload those at once? What do you guys think is a good chunk of reading for a chapter, and what's a decent wait?